Most IT pros feel gender discrimination is still rife in the tech industry

The vast majority of IT professionals firmly believe that gender discrimination is still a big factor in the workplace.

Indeed, according to a new survey carried out by OnePoll (commissioned by Investors in People) that took in the opinions of 2,000 full-time IT and telecoms pros, 83 per cent said gender discrimination is still present in the industry.

That’s not too surprising given the string of diversity reports which popped up last year from various tech giants, showing that women were under-represented in many tech sectors (engineering and leadership roles, for starters), and also underpaid compared to male staff.

35 per cent of employees felt they had actually experienced discrimination due to gender, and a quarter felt that their pay had been affected by their gender – but that said, the research found that the IT industry was actually below the UK average in terms of some key indicators for gender discrimination.

And the good news is that 72 per cent of IT staff feel that the situation is at least improving now, which is above the UK average of 68 per cent.

Valerie Todd CBE, Director of Talent at Crossrail and Chair of Investors in People, commented: “The fact that so many believe gender discrimination is still so prevalent in today’s business world is very concerning. It is up to leaders to help change both perception and the reality of discrimination; an inclusive culture is fundamental to success for any organisation. For a business to outperform others it must reflect the community and market it operates in or risk being out of touch.”